**FIRST EMAIL**/FIRST Choice/Adult Mentor Electronic Consent & Release Forms/Dean's L

[Gary Dillard]

Greetings Teams:

FIRST HQ Closed 11/25-11/26: FIRST HQ will be closed next Thursday and Friday (11/25-11/26) in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. Consequently, the Email Blast will be sent on Wednesday of next week.

FIRST Choice: FRC has partnered with AndyMark, Inc. to try something new with the 2011 Kit of Parts (KoP). In an effort to evolve the model so that it scales with team growth and meets the needs of the teams more effectively and efficiently, we are pleased introduce FIRST Choice! For more information about this new program, read on here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr....aspx?id=18504

Adult Mentor Electronic Consent & Release Forms Now Available in TIMS: When you log in to TIMS today, you’ll notice it looks a little different. Upon logging in, you’ll be brought to “My FRC Dashboard” (the page formerly known as “My Team List”). The first field at the top of this screen is “FIRST Consent & Release Form,” click “Respond” to complete the electronic consent and release form. This electronic form is available to any adult team contacts who are listed in TIMS (this includes mentors, scholarship, guidance counselors, etc.). Anyone who does not complete the electronic consent and release form will need to bring a hard copy form to Kickoff and their initial Regional event.

Dean’s List Award Open for Submissions in TIMS: The FIRST Dean’s List Award is now open for submissions in TIMS. You can find it under the “FIRST Awards” field on your Team Summary page. For information about this and other FIRST Awards, please visit: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/...nt.aspx?id=440

Senior Mentor Call Tonight: The next FIRST Senior Mentor call will take place tonight, November 18th @ 7 PM EST. The call topic is Control System/Driver’s Station & Beta Test Observations, hosted by Senior Mentor Mike Siegel (NY), and FRC Electrical Engineer Matt Pilotte (FIRST HQ). For call-in information and an outline of the call, please visit: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/....aspx?id=10124.

Does your team need special shipping support for your Bag & Tag event? If so, you must inform frcteams@usfirst.org by December 15th. As a rule, all Bag and Tag teams must bring their robots IN and OUT of their event venue. If you write in and ask for an exception to this rule, and we decide your team has a good reason for SHIPPING your robot to a Bag and Tag event, we will try to find someone or some place near the event that can accept the delivery of the robot and store it securely until FRC has access to the venue. Finally, we will try to arrange for the stored robot to be delivered to the event. As you can imagine, this will take some serious planning to set up, so PLEASE only ask for this “special delivery” option if you ABSOLUTELY need it. As always, the sooner you let us know, the better! (Tip: You can typically rent a U-Haul truck for as little as $19.95/day…this could be a great alternative option!) Thanks for your cooperation.

Initial Regional Event Payment Deadline 12/3: Remember that the payment deadline for your first Regional event is Friday, December 3rd, 2010 at 11:59 PM EST. If you have not already, please review our pricing structure and payment terms for the 2011 FRC Season here: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/...nt.aspx?id=460

Important Kit & Kickoff Reminders:

Keep in mind that the “Kit and Kickoff Preferences” in the Team Information Management System (TIMS) will close Friday, December 2nd, 2010 @ 8 PM EST.

All Kit Shipping information must be accurate by this date as the packing and palletizing process for shipment will begin the week after the deadline. Once Kits are palletized, FIRST cannot accept any changes to your shipping selections. Please read the following important selection details, especially if you are a new/Rookie team this year:


• Your team can attend more than one Kickoff. For example, if your team is planning to fly members to the Manchester, NH Kickoff, other members of your team can also attend a Local Kickoff and pick up your Kit of Parts (KOP) there;
• If your team chooses to fly members to the Manchester Kickoff, they will not be able to take the KOP back on the plane. We recommend that you send other adult team members to a Local Kickoff to collect the KOP or select “Ship my kit to my team shipping contact’s address. I agree to pay the shipping fee”* within the “Kit Pick up/Delivery” section in TIMS for your KOP shipment;
• We highly encourage Rookie Teams to send two (2) adult team leaders to the Manchester, NH Kickoff to attend the workshops! Workshop Information will be posted here soon: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr....aspx?id=15787

*If you have chosen–Ship my kit to my team shipping contact’s address. I agree to pay the shipping fee–please make sure:


• You have a valid FedEx or UPS shipping account number in TIMS. If this number is not entered or is inaccurate, your KOP cannot be shipped!
• Your Shipping Contact’s primary shipping address is accurate in TIMS – this is where the KOP will be shipped.
• Most teams can expect to receive their KOP starting the week after Kickoff. However, if you are an international team your delivery will depend on customs clearance.

Surrogate Kit Pickup Option


If a team is unable to pick up its KOP at the Local Kickoff selected, an alternate team may be designated to do so. The team unable to attend must provide FIRST with an authorized Surrogate Kit Pickup letter, signed by the main or alternate contact, on school or sponsor letterhead that includes:


1.) Your team number; 2.) The KOP pickup location; and 3.) The name and team number of the surrogate teamteam contact picking up the KOP.


All Surrogate Kit Pickup letters must be received at FIRST by January 3rd, 2011.

The surrogate letter should be sent or faxed to:
FIRST
attn: FRC Team Support/Operations
200 Bedford Street
Manchester, NH 03101
Fax #: 603-666-3907

Or scanned and emailed to frcteams@usfirst.org

Go Teams!

FRC Team Support

FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)

200 Bedford Street

Manchester, NH 03101

Phone: (603) 666-3906 Fax: (603) 666-3907

http://www.usfirst.org

[Gary Dillard]

So according to the link on USFIRST, we will get our first peek at some of the items in the "overflow" kit of parts on December 13th. Sweet.

[rsisk]

Listening to the Control System/Driver’s Station & Beta Test Observations call, picked up the following information regarding the 2011 Classmate...


2010 v 2011 classmate
160GB hard drive spinning (vs solid state drive on 2010 classmate)
larger keyboard
larger screen
3 USB ports
Will come loaded with Windows 7
New restoration key will load Windows 7 on 2010 classmates
Change IPs faster

Recording of the call will be here at some point...
http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/....aspx?id=10124

[Jon236]

Wondering whether veteran teams will be able to upgrade their Classmates at a discount?

[Danny Diaz]

Originally Posted by rsisk

2010 v 2011 classmate
160GB hard drive spinning (vs solid state drive on 2010 classmate)
larger keyboard
larger screen
3 USB ports
Will come loaded with Windows 7
New restoration key will load Windows 7 on 2010 classmates
Change IPs faster

Yeah, I was able to test-drive one of the new classmates (one of the many perks working at NI) but the thing I like most about it (that wasn't mentioned here) is the VGA port. No more graphical programming on a tiny screen (without logging in via remote desktop), and we can even do code reviews using a projector. As far as horsepower is concerned, the old and new are equivalent. But the added features are very nice.

Originally Posted by Jon236

Wondering whether veteran teams will be able to upgrade their Classmates at a discount?

I asked about this, and nobody knows. That usually means NO. FIRST, please surprise me - PLEASE.

-Danny

[rsisk]

Originally Posted by Danny Diaz

the VGA port

Hallelujah!